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GAS GROWS IN JAPAN

by Maria Cristina Pavarini — September 28, 2010

Italian jeanswear and sportswear brand Gas has recently opened its newest flagship store in Kyoto. The new opening adds up to the already exisisting boutiques in Japan in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Kobe. Japan plays a significant role for Gas because this country is actually the first major foreign market for Gas that is operated through an indepedent office which was established in 2005.

Kyoto’s flagship store is based in the heart of Kawaramachi Shijo and has a sales floor of 160 sqm. The new boutique was designed by Milan studio April according to the retail concept “Re-Thinking” which was already developed for the brand’s flagship stores in top locations like Venice, Budapest and Berlin. This new architeture “tailor-made” concept includes clean interiors focused on giving emphasis to the product, video-installations that are constantly projected, opaline polycarbonate walls lighted from the back, and the “Denim Icon”, a special display system for presenting the brand’s jeanswear selection.

Furthermore, Gas has recently signed an agreement with Malhon, a specialised distributing company from Osaka acting in Eastern markets. The aim of the company is to increase the brand’s distribution in Japan through wholesale and department stores. In order to push the brand’s growth strategies in this market, Gas mainly concentrates on initiatives such as in-store events, off-line traditional communication strategies as well as online and viral marketing initiatives.

For 2009, Gas registered a turnover of about 912 million Yen in Japan, a plus of 6.2% compared to 2008, and expects to reach a turnover of about one billion Yen for 2010 which would be 8.6% more than in 2009.